EFFECTIVENESS OF JUSTICE: FROM DOCTRINE TO PRACTICE

Abstract

The article examines the effectiveness of justice in Ukraine as a multidimensional legal category defined as the capacity
of the judicial system to ensure the real administration of justice in accordance with the standards of a fair trial guaranteed
by the Constitution and international instruments, in a manner that: ensures the proper quality, legality, reasonableness
and predictability of judicial decisions; guarantees access to justice for every person; implements the principles of
procedural economy and timeliness; fosters public trust in the judiciary as an independent and competent “arbiter”; and
ensures the enforcement of judicial decisions as the final stage of justice administration.
The content of the normative-procedural, organizational-managerial, innovative-technological, economic, socio-legal,
and procedural-economic aspects is disclosed. It is emphasized that a comprehensive (integrated) approach to defining
the effectiveness of justice is the most logical and scientifically grounded, and corresponds to the modern understanding
of the role of the judiciary in a democratic state governed by the rule of law. Its advantage lies in overcoming the narrowness
of each individual aspect by uniting them into a coherent, systemic concept in which the effectiveness of justice is
viewed as a multidimensional, multifaceted socio-legal phenomenon.
It is argued that precisely the comprehensive (integrated) approach is the most accurate and consistent for assessing
and ensuring the effectiveness of justice. This approach takes into account the multifaceted nature of justice as an institution,
the complexity of factors influencing its effectiveness, and allows for judicial system reform with due regard to its
interrelated components. It is characterized by systemicity, multidisciplinarity, result-orientation, and dynamism. It is
demonstrated that such an integrated approach ensures unity between the legal form and the social function of justice.
It makes it possible to assess effectiveness not only through formal indicators of judicial performance but also through
the judiciary’s actual ability to guarantee the rule of law, ensure economic stability, and sustain social trust.
The article proposes a definition of the effectiveness of justice as the capacity of the judicial system to ensure the real
administration of justice in accordance with the standards of a fair trial guaranteed by the Constitution and international
instruments (in particular, Article 6 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental
Freedoms), in a manner that: ensures the proper quality, legality, reasonableness and predictability of judicial decisions;
guarantees access to justice for every person; implements the principles of procedural economy and timeliness; fosters
public trust in the judiciary as an independent and competent “arbiter”; and ensures the enforcement of judicial decisions
as the final stage of justice administration.
Generalized practical recommendations are formulated for enhancing the effectiveness of justice in Ukraine in line
with European standards, derived from the synthesis of all analyzed aspects — normative-procedural, organizationalmanagerial,
innovative-technological, economic, socio-legal, and procedural-economic.